


The Aquarium

by AbbyTheCat65



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: ALLSHITT, Angst, Aquarium AU, Cute, Fluffy, Gay, Hunay, Idk how to tag rip, LGBT, Langst, Mallura, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Self-Indulgent, Shatt, angsty, angsty past, aquarium, broganes, hunay fluff, hunay is too good for this world, klance, lgbtq+, mermaid, mermaid au, merman, platonic pidgeance, shallura - Freeform, shalluratt, sharkmaid
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-17
Updated: 2018-09-13
Packaged: 2019-04-03 19:59:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14003583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AbbyTheCat65/pseuds/AbbyTheCat65
Summary: THIS HAS BEEN REWRITTEN!! PLEASE DO NOT READ THIS, PLEASE READ https://archiveofourown.org/works/15953291





	1. Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> WOOO BOY THIS PROBABLY SUCKS BUT O H WELL LMAO  
> so i made an au.......... and then i was in the shower and my brain went............ klance........................... and i was like yES so here we are lmao  
> I'll put some info for the au at the bottom!! i hope u enjoy ;;

Blue eyes fluttered open. They blinked a few times before tan arms stretched out, blue tail curving up through the water. Lance pushed himself forward, tail flicking lazily as the merman swam out into the more open part of his tank from the little section closed off for his privacy. He would always be grateful for the Aquarium for that- everyone needed their privacy sometimes, after all.

Lance hummed a small tune as he turned so that he was facing the top of the tank, almost like he was lying down in the water. His arms turned so that his hands rested underneath his mop of brown hair. He scratched at his head lazily, eyes half-open as he looked up at the lights shining through the water. The blue gills at the side of his chest and neck fluttered as he breathed. He stretched again so that his body formed a nice curve in the water, still trying to wake up as his eyes squeezed shut and a small smile settled on his face.

Those same eyes flew open a moment later when he heard a familiar clanking coming from outside his tank. He quickly flicked his tail and turned upright, pausing- the footsteps on the metal ladder sounded weird- not as loud as they usually were.

_Maybe Hunk lost some weight,_ he thought, though the young merman seriously doubted it. A moment later a grin was gracing his face again. _Besides, who cares?! It’s feeding time!_

Lance sped upwards, closing his eyes a moment before he broke the surface of the water with a _splash!_

“Ah!”

Lance’s eyes flew open again- that voice did _not_ sound like Hunk! He blinked a few times, his eyes adjusting from looking underwater to above water. When his eyes adjusted he gave a small, confused gasp.

Instead of the slightly chubby Hawaiian that usually gave Lance his food, sitting at the edge of the tank, shaking water off of his arms with a slightly disgusted expression, was a short Korean teenager. He was wearing the typical jacket that all Altea Aquarium members had to wear, but underneath it was a red shirt- the employees could wear whatever shirt they wanted, but that wasn’t quite what Lance was thinking about right now.

“Hey, where’s Hunk??” He demanded after a moment of silence where blue eyes had stare into deep indigo, almost purple ones. This seemed to snap the man out of whatever he was thinking about, and he gave a quiet sigh, shifting so that he was sitting at the edge of the tank. Lance noticed that his raven black hair was kind of long in the back. _Does he… does he have a mullet??_

“Hunk’s been moved to the Balmera section. I’m your new feeder,” the teen replied, hoisting up a familiar metal bucket with the Altea Aquarium logo on it’s side. Lance let out a half-shocked, half-offended gasp.

“Really?! I love Allura and Shiro, don’t get me wrong, but would they really swap out my _best friend_ for someone with a _mullet_??”

The boy looked over at him, one eyebrow cocked up. “Uh… what?”

Lance gestured vaguely to his hair with one hand while the other went to rest on the edge of the tank. “You have a mullet. It’s horrifying.” Okay, maybe that last part wasn’t completely true, but Lance thought that he must be going insane if he saw anyone that could make a mullet look _good._

The boy just gave a sigh, looking deadpan. “I don’t have a mullet. Now c’mon, it’s time to eat.” A smirk crept onto his face as he reached into the bucket sitting next to him. “I actually figured you might be sad about Hunk being moved, so…”

Lance stiffened, sea blue eyes wide with shock as a familiar scent reached his nose. “is that…”

“Salmon,” the korean boy said, finishing Lance’s sentence. “Your favorite.” Lance gasped as the other boy pulled out a pinkish fish from the bucket, then throwing it out into the water.

Lance turns his head to look at it before giving the boy a confused look. He looks shocked, before his expression turns to one of embarrassment. “Uh, sorry, I’m… used to feeding penguins and stuff, hehe…”

Lance gave an offended huff. “I’m not a penguin.” His expression softened when the other boy flinched and turned his head with a quiet apology. His eyebrows furrowed, turning up at the inner ends. 

“Hey, uh, it’s okay,” he reassured, before he turned and dove down to get below the salmon, which was floating on the surface. Lance stuck his tongue out before he sped upwards, leaping out of the water as he caught the salmon in his sharp teeth. After he was back in the water he devoured the fish, finishing it in a few bites before he swam back over to the other boy, placing the bones next to him on the ladder before flashing the boy a large smile.

Lance snickered when he saw the other’s boys were wide, his eyes were wide, and his mouth was slightly open. “Like that?” He asked, feeling cocky. The other boy just huffed, cheeks turning slightly pink.

Suddenly Lance remembered something as he rested his crossed arms on the edge of the tank, one hand raised as the boy placed another one of the yummy fishes in it. “Oh, uh, I never got your name,” he said, looking up at the raven-haired male as he took a bite of the fish, struggling a little to hold it with his webbed hands. The other boy looked up, raising his eyebrows.

“Oh, my name is Keith,” he answered, giving a small smile.

Lance smirked. “It fits. An ugly name for someone with ugly hair.”

Lance laughed as Keith gave an indignant ‘hey!’, diving back down below the water as he avoided a smack to the back of his head.

*.*.*

Lance lay in the large ‘shell’ that had been made by the Aquarium to provide as a bed for the merman. His crossed arms were resting under his head as he studied the ceiling above, watching as lights turned off as someone closed up the Aquarium- probably Matt, he always stayed late doing financial stuff.

Half-closed blue eyes blinked as the brain behind them replayed Keith’s smile. Lance flushes, turning over and pushing his face into his water-proof pillow with a groan.

That _jerk._ How dare he look good with a _mullet!?_


	2. Dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance has a Past, Keith is worried.

He was being pulled backwards by hands gripping his small arms, squeezing tighter as he struggled against them, thrashing wildly. He managed to get his right arm free and reached it back down towards the surface of the dirty water he was being pulled out of. Through the brown surface he could see a merwoman, eyes wide as she clutched a smaller mermaid to her chest.

“Mami!” He cried, saltwater tears spilling down the young boy’s face as the rough hand reclaimed his arm.

The merwoman tried to lift her arm to her son, but it was halted by the handcuff attached to a chain that was keeping her stuck to the bottom of the tank. Her mouth moved as she shouted a name, his name, but he couldn’t hear it, as just then he was dumped unceremoniously into a metal box filled with water.

Once he recovered he pushed himself up against the top of the box as it was put on by the men. He banged his fist against it, screaming and crying until he had worn himself out. He let himself sink to the bottom, curling up in the enclosed space and burying his head in his tan arms, crying his blue eyes out.

*.*.*

Lance’s blue eyes flew open and he sat up with a shout. He sat there for a moment, eyes wide as his breaths came in the ragged bursts of sobs. Finally he sighed, digging his

tan hands into his eyelids, moving them to rub at his head, trying to fight the headache growing there.

He lay back down, lying on his back in the shell-bed, staring at the ceiling as he tried to steady his breathing. Once that was under control, he plopped his hands on his face with a groan. He hated that nightmare. 

He especially hated how he would never know what his actual name was- he had been taken away from his family young by the illegal merfolk association thing that he had been born into and then rescued from when he was thirteen. He had been been too young to remember what his mother had named him, and wow, Lance did not want to think about that this early in the morning.

He slid his hands down his face until they were resting on his chest. His brain formed the fleeting thought that he probably looked like he was in a coffin or something. He chuckled quietly at that.

His eyes flew open when he heard Keith’s footsteps climbing up the ladder. He hadn’t realized that it was already six- then again, it was kind of hard to keep track of time when you lived in a tank underwater.

For a moment he panicked- Keith could not see him like this, his eyes were probably red and he would bet anything that his face was bloated. He growled, sitting up again as he rubbed furiously at his eyes for a moment, before taking a few deep breaths. He could hear a thunk that was softer than the footsteps when Keith sat at the edge of the tank.

Lance closed his eyes, composing himself for a moment before plastering on the best smile he could muster. Confident Lance mode was on. It would be ok, Keith wouldn’t suspect anything. The Korean teen had been feeding Lance every morning and night for about a week, but he didn’t think that was long enough to tell when Lance was off.

Reassured, Lance pulled himself out of the shell bed, swimming out into the more open part of the tank before heading upwards. He pushed through the surface of the water and blinked at the blob that was Keith for a moment before he came more into focus. Lance was surprised to see the look of intense relief on the raven-haired boy’s face.

“Hey,” Lance greeted, the best fake grin he could muster spreading across his face. “Sorry it took so long, I had trouble waking up.” Not entirely true, but Keith didn’t need to know what Lance’s dreams were like.

Keith’s eyebrows furrowed for a moment, and in that moment his deep blue, almost purple eyes turned from soft to searching. Lance was uncomfortable for a moment, before Keith’s expression softened again. “It’s fine.” He pulled a fish from the bucket and prepared to toss it into the water- the two boys had found that Lance actually liked when Keith threw the fish and Lance had to swim after it, but this time Lance stopped him with a “Wait.”

Keith looked at him, eyebrows raised as he lowered his arm. Lance felt blue blood rush to his face and he quickly explained, “Uh, I’m s-still pretty tired, so can you just... hand the fish to me…?”

Keith smiled, and Lance almost fainted with relief. “Sure, that’s fine. Some days you just wake up wrong,” he reassured, handing the fish to Lance, who grabbed it before sinking down slightly so that only his eyes and the top of his eyes were above the surface. He ate the fish before placing the bones next to Keith, who started to get another fish, but again Lance stopped him.

“I’m not really hungry,” the brunette said. Not a total lie. But the merman felt a pang of regret as Keith’s expression turned back to concerned.

“Are you ok?” He asked, leaning forward a little, eyebrows furrowed. “You don’t really seem like yourself. Did something happen?”

 _Shit, he saw right through me. Shitshitshit-_ “U-uh, I’m fine! Just a little tired, heh heh…” Lance said, heart racing. A moment of uncomfortable silence. “Anyway, I’m gonna go back to bed! Maybe a nap will help, seeya tonight Keith!” He turned to dive back below the surface, but was halted when Keith grabbed his arm.

Suddenly Lance was six years old again. He was being dragged away from his mother and sister, but he doesn’t want to leave them, he _can’t_ leave them because Dad was already taken away and he _can’t_ leave Veronica and Mom all alone he _can’t_ , and then he’s back to seventeen and he’s facing Keith, who is clutching his arm where Lance hit him.

There’s silence for a moment. Tears have returned to Lance’s eyes, and though he can’t see Keith clearly through them, he’s sure the boy’s expression is one of hurt and anger.

_Great job Lance, you let your stupid mind ruin a perfectly good friendship. What a fucking idiot._

Lance dove below the surface, speeding towards the little privacy area. It went in a little and then took a left turn where it widened into a small room. He dove into his shell-bed, head first so that his fin was curled at the top and his head was in the skinnier part that let no light through.

He stayed like that for the rest of the day.

He _hated_ when things like this happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lance's past in this au is p u r e a n g s t
> 
> EDIT: I fixed the line spacing because somehow it got all fucked up the first time i posted it rip


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith is simultaneously worried out of his mind and fucking pissed because customer service Sucks

Keith _hated_ when things like this happened.

His friend was clearly distressed about something, and yet he _refused_ to open up to him about it. Of course, Keith was being a little hypocritical- he tended to bottle up his feelings too- but when Keith had grabbed Lance’s arm, the merman had seemed genuinely panicked.

He thought he knew what was wrong, though he wasn’t quite sure if that was a good thing. 

After he had climbed back down the ladder and set the bucket in the storage closet, he

went to see Shiro, who was sitting at the desk in the main office (obviously).

Keith’s brother looked up as the door was pushed open as Keith called his name. “Yes, Keith?” Shiro asked, sitting up from where he had been leaning over some papers on the table.

He took a deep breath. “I… I think Lance has PTSD,” he said.

*.*.*

About two hours later, Keith was sweeping the floors- technically Coran, Allura’s godfather, was the janitor, but the aquarium was fairly large, and since Keith had nothing else to do right then he was helping the ginger moustached man out.

As he went past Lance’s tank he stopped. There were aquatic plants- some real, some fake- around the corners, but mostly the outside was glass. Keith didn’t see Lance, who was usually swimming around and putting on quite a show for the visitors.

Speaking of visitors, he could see a young girl with her mother standing just a few feet away from Keith.

“Mommy, where’s the mermaid?” the girl was asking, seeming upset as she tugged on the hand of the woman standing next to her. The mom was looking into the tank with a frustrated expression.

“I don’t know, honey,” she said. She looked around for a moment before her eyes landed on Keith. “Hey!” She called, starting to head over to him. “You work here, right?”

Keith deadpanned, lifting his right hand from the broom he was carrying to gesture at the name tag on his jacket, that had the aquarium logo on it. “Yes, ma’am. What may I help you with?”

“Where’s the mermaid that’s _supposed_ to be in this tank?” she asked, gesturing to the said tank.

Keith gave a small sigh, feeling a sudden pang of sadness. “Mer _man_. And he’s probably in the area he gave him so that he may have his privacy- he’s not feeling very well today,” he explained, gesturing with his hand as he talked.

He had to keep himself from growling out loud when the woman’s expression turned to furious. “What?!” As her mouth opened again, Keith could recite the next word to come out of her mouth exactly.

“That’s bullshit! I came here to show my daughter some mermaids, it’s her birthday you know, and you’re telling me that the mermaid- merman, whatever the fuck- isn’t feeling good?!”

Keith knew the next words before she even spoke them.

“I demand to talk to your manager!”

Keith sighed, leaning the broom up against the tank. He raised a hand to beckon the woman. “Follow me, ma’am,” he said in a monotone.

The walk to Shiro’s office was tense. Keith was happy when Shiro asked him to leave so that he could deal with the bitch- of course he didn’t say that, but Keith knew what he meant.

_This is not a good day,_ Keith’s brain decided. He let out an audible scoff as he picked his broom back up and got back to sweeping.

_No shit, Sherlock._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is short hhhhh  
> but yeah, i havent had a job yet but i imagine this is what customer service is like lmao


	4. New Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith and Lance make up(?)  
> also everyone's favorite girl!!!

The next morning, Keith couldn’t help that he was a little surprised when Lance appeared for breakfast. However, the relief didn’t last long as a heavy silence settled between the two. Keith would hand Lance a fish and Lance would sink down so that only his eyes were above the water, and he would eat the fish in a few practiced bites with his sharp teeth. This repeated a few times before Keith finally broke the silence.

“Are… are you ok?” he asked, voice quiet and cautious.

Lance’s shoulders tensed for a moment before he forced them to relax. “‘m fine now,” he answered, nibbling at his fish- it was salmon, but he couldn’t bring himself to enjoy what was usually his favorite snack.

Keith sighed. They both knew that Lance was full, but the merman stayed. Keith didn’t know how long he would wait, though, so he quickly asked the question that had been lingering in the air for the past few minutes.

“So… what happened yesterday?”

Lance’s tail flicked, but luckily he didn’t dive back below the surface, instead he crossed his arms and laid them over the edge of the tank, laying his chin in them as he stared straight ahead. “I don’t wanna talk about it.”

Keith gave an almost inaudible sigh. “Alright. I understand. But…” He glanced over at Lance, a small, concerned smile on his face. “If you ever need to talk or anything, I’m here, ok?”

Lance gave an equally tiny smile back. “Will do.”

*.*.*

Lance didn’t stay in his room that day- he still felt pretty crappy, but he felt a bit better at least. He was doing lazy loop-de-loops in the water when he froze. He quickly whipped upright, staring at a familiar young teenage girl standing on the other side of the glass. He grinned, swimming over to her before raising his hands to sign.

_“Pidge!”_ he signed. She smiled at him, raising her own pale hands too.

_“Hey Lance,”_ she signed. _“School’s out so I decided to stop by. How have you been doing?”_

Lance gave a pointy grin. _“I’ve been pretty good! How about you?”_

_“I’m good too. Want me to come up the ladder so we can talk easier?”_

_“Definitely. I’ll be waiting for you, slowpoke!”_

_“Oh it’s on!”_

Lance laughed, turning to swim slowly towards the top of the water, wanting to give Pidge a chance. But even then, he came up to the surface about half a minute before her. She plopped down, panting as she sat cross-legged.

“Hey there Pidgeon~” Lance greeted, resting his arms over the edge of the tank so that his armpits were resting on top of the thick glass.

“Hey Lance,” Pidge greeted back. She took off her large, circular glasses and cleaned them on her forest green t-shirt.

“How's Matt doing?” Lance asked, moving his arms so that they were crossed and resting on the small platform at the top of the ladder.

“He's good, I think he and Allura are planning something for Shiro- he’s been pretty stressed lately. At least the good thing about having two partners is you get twice as much affection.” Pidge pulled a disgusted expression, but Lance could tell she was faking it and laughed- the aro/ace girl liked to pretend that she hated all kinds of physical affection, but Lance knew that wasn't true.

Suddenly remembering something he had been wanting to ask, Lance asked, “How's Hunk? I haven't seen him since he got moved to the Balmera exhibit.” Lance pouted, causing Pidge to laugh.

“He's fine. He says he misses you though, I think he's planning to visit at some point.” Lance grinned, giving a small yelp of glee, and Pidge chuckled. Lance's blue eyes widened some when the girl’s smirk grew mischievous. “Also… I think he's got the hots for the mershark he's feeding~”

Lance gasped. “No way!! How could he abandon me like this?!” He dramatically threw an arm across his forehead, the blue scales on his wrist and the back of his hands sparkling in the light. “Me, his _best friend_ , left for some mershark??” 

Once Pidge had recovered from her laughing fit Lance continued, still using an overly exaggerated voice filled with betrayal. “At least tell me their name!! I must know what _fiend_ stole my Hunk away from me.”

“Her- her name is Shay,” Pidge informed through giggles, a wide grin making her face light up. Lance liked it when he made his friends smile. Right now, youth, he was too in character and continued.

“I swear I will find this Shay and save my Hunk from her evil clutches!” After the two had had a good laugh at that, Lance’s face relaxed into a small smile. “But seriously, Hunk should know that human-merfolk relationships rarely work out.”

Pidge raised her eyebrows. “Well, apparently Keith is trying.”

Lance spluttered, face turning bright blue. “I am sure I don't know what you mean!”

“You forget yourself,” Pidge said, a little sing-songy. Lance snorted.

“You're like me, I have never been satisfied,” Lance sang, enjoying the way his gills vibrated with his vocal chords as he quoted that musical that Pidge had made him listen to once.

When Pidge didn't say anything Lance opened his eyes, turning his head back from where he had turned it to the side for a dramatic angle. Pidge was watching him intently, pupils a bit wider than they should be. Lance raised an eyebrow, slightly concerned. “Uh, Pidgey? You ok?”

His voice seemed to snap her out of her trance. “Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine, just…” her eyebrows furrowed, jaw stuck out to the side. “... you have a really nice voice.”

Lance tilted his head, blushing a little. “Uh, thanks? You really seemed out of it, though.”

Pidge shook her head before turning back to Lance with a small smile. “I-It was nothing. I'm fine now.” She jumped a bit as a buzzing noise sounded from her pants. She dug her cellular phone(or whatever it's called) out of her pocket, looking at the screen for a second before giving a yelp. “I got to go! Sorry, I forgot I have a club meeting today. See you!”

“Bye,” Lance called as Pidge started down the ladder. He watched her for a bit before sighing and slipping back down into the water- there was a lot to think about right now.

First of all, he wasn't sure what that thing with the singing had been- the only explanation his mind was coming up with was that he was a siren, but he was pretty sure only mermaids could be sirens.

Second of all, Pidge had said that Keith was trying to get with a merperson- was she referring to Shay? Did Keith have a crush on her too?

Or did Keith like Lance?

Lance gave a small squeal, shaking his head before swimming in a few circles. Of course Keith didn't like Lance like that. That would be insane! Lance decided that he must still be tired from the bad sleep he had gotten two nights prior. He wasn’t thinking straight.

He squealed again at the gay puns that started flooding his mind immediately after that foolish statement.


	5. Siren

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> guess who!!!!! :000

Lance was swimming in small circles near the surface of the tank, agitated. Keith was taking a long time to bring the merman’s dinner, and he was getting hungry.

Suddenly, he caught a flicker of motion from the corner of his eye while he was turning to face the glass part of his tank. He quickly whipped around towards it, eyes widening at what he saw.

The employees of Altea Aquarium were wheeling a small tank through the front doors- Lance’s tank was close to the front, so he saw Pidge come through first, placing the doorstop under one door and then running to hold the other open, then Hunk, who was pulling the tank from the front, and Shiro pushing it from the back. It had a black tarp over it, so Lance couldn't see what was inside it, but Keith and Matt were walking along on either side, probably to make sure the cargo didn't fall off of the wheels contraption they were using to move it. 

For a moment, Lance didn't understand why they had to be there, or why they looked so on-edge- to Lance it looked like the tank was perfectly balanced and stable. But as he watched, unconsciously drifting downwards towards the action, the tank lurched from some unseen motion. Matt rushed forward, and Hunk and Shiro paused for a moment so that he could re-balance the tank. Matt’s back was towards Lance, but he could see that his mouth was moving as he said something- Lance wondered who he was talking to, and was very confused when nobody seemed to respond to him.

Blue eyes followed the tank as the group moved it to the side of Lance’s tank and then further back until he couldn't see it anymore. Pidge was trailing behind them and when she saw lance’s confused expression, quickly signed out an explanation to him.

_“New mermaid!”_

Lance gasped, a grin spreading across his face. Pidge smiled back before turning her head suddenly, probably having heard a call from one of the others. She waved a quick goodbye before hurrying off.

A few moments later Lance heard footsteps on the ladder, and almost squealed with excitement as he rushed up to the surface. He popped up above the water near the top of the ladder. When his eyes finally adjusted he saw Hunk climbing the stairs, carrying a small, yellow-tailed mermaid in his arms.

The mermaid was thrashing, panic in her eyes, and Lance understood why Hunk had been the one to carry her up- though he would never hurt a fly, nobody could argue that he was the strongest out of all of the employees.

Lance saw that the mermaid’s wrists were cuffed together, though it didn’t look that tight, and with every moment they were coming looser, along with the ‘gag’ over her mouth- really, it was nothing more than a cloth tied around the back of her head and widened a bit where it blocked her mouth.

Lance made a soothing clicking noise at the back of his throat, and the mermaid stilled suddenly. Hunk breathed a quiet sigh of relief as he reached the top, settling down on his knees so that he could lower her to the water. Lance reached up to grab her halfway, and he saw that her eyes looked strange.

Lance knew that there were different kind of merfolk, and some looked different than others, but he still hadn’t seen many in his lifetime, and he hadn’t seen eyes like hers- they had purple scleras, and the iris was just a slightly lighter purple, with round pupils(not slits like Lance’s) the same color as her scleras. She had long, golden blonde hair, tied into four ponytails- which sounds kind of weird, but Lance thought actually looked very pretty.

Her purple eyes were very wide as she stared at Lance, looking shocked and confused. She was making muffled humming noises from behind the ‘gag’ and Lance looked up at Hunk questioningly. 

Hunk scratched the back of his head, looking both embarrassed and regretful. “Yeah, she was pretty spooked when we rescued her… I don’t think she understands English. And we had to muffle her voice because… well, she’s a siren, and we couldn’t have her screaming and blowing everyone’s ears out, heh…”

Lance nodded in understanding. “Yeah, it’s fine. I understand.” He slowly lowered the mermaid into the water, letting her adjust to the temperature. He moved so that he was lying on his back in the water with the siren on top of him so that she wouldn’t fall as he untied the cloth around her head. He rested it on the part of his chest that didn’t have a beautiful girl laying on it as he examined the soft-looking cloth tied around her wrists- they really _didn’t_ want to hurt this girl, huh?

Finally deciding that he had no idea how to untie the impressive knot he reluctantly pulled the cloth into his mouth, chewing through it quickly with his sharp teeth- he hadn’t wanted to damage the cloth, but oh well.

As he finished his tasks, he noticed that the siren’s face was really red, and judging by the warmth spreading across his own face, he was probably blushing too. he quickly flicked his tail to right them, grabbing the two pieces of cloth and letting the mermaid slip underneath the water. He gave the fabric back to Hunk, who said a quick thanks and good-bye before starting back down the ladder.

Lance gave a small, quick wave back before turning and slipping under the water to face the girl, who was still watching him with wide eyes.

Lance blanked as he suddenly realized that, of the girl really didn't understand English, they had no way of communicating. After a moment of silence between the two, Lance raised his hand and waved, hoping that the sign for ‘hello’ was universal. “Hi,” he said. “I'm Lance.” He talked slowly, pointing to his chest when he introduced himself.”

The girl blinked at him and he gave a small sigh, deciding to try again. He pointed at himself, making sure the gesture wasn't missed. “Lance,” he said again, trying to be as clear and loud as possible.

The girl’s eyebrows lifted in understanding and she pointed at herself before talking in a strange, accented voice. “Nyma.”

Lance smiled- he was glad this Nyma girl had understood! But then his eyebrows furrowed- that accent had seemed familiar…

Deciding to try something, he cleared his throat before talking in the different language. _“Can you understand me now?”_

Nyma’s eyes widened. _“Y-yes! You can- you can speak, what's it, uh, Spanish?”_

Lance grinned. _“Yes! This is great, I thought we weren't going to be able to understand each other!”_

Nyla smiled. _“Yeah, that would've been awkward.”_ Her eyebrows suddenly furrowed and she crossed her arms. _“Anyway, why did you seem so relaxed around those humans? Didn't they kidnap you or something?”_

Lance shook his head, flicking his tail to move a little closer to Nyma. _“No, no, those humans are nice! They saved my life.”_ His eyes glazed over for a second as he remembered how he had been taken from his mother and forced into a small tank. Other humans had passed by, day after day, to peer at him through the murky water. He had been moved around a lot, sometimes being forced to put on weird shows for humans peering at him, sometimes just sitting in a too-small tank as humans looked at him with wonder in their cold eyes. 

When he had been rescued, he had been about five minutes away from death- apparently mermaid meat sells for a lot on the black market, and mermaid scales for even more.

Lance was shocked out of an oncoming attack when Nyla gently placed her hand on his arm. He realized that he had crossed his arms and digging his sharp fingernails into his arms to tight he was close to breaking skin. He quickly straightened his arms out. Nyma placed her hands on both of his shoulders, staring up at him. _“Are you ok?”_

_“Yes.”_ Not a complete lie- Lance was a bit better now, though a few minutes ago he had been the exact opposite of ok. Oh well.

_“Follow me,”_ he said, pulling a little away from Nyma before swimming down towards his little room. He swam over to his shell-bed before turning around, hovering in the water just above it. He watched as Nyma came in slowly, obviously cautious. Lance made a clicking noise and watched as her head whipped around. He grinned. _“Welcome to my room! I guess you're going to be staying with me, at least until they get you a separate tank or something, I dunno.”_

Nyma gave a small smile. 

_“Alright.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i guess you could call this a story arc?????? lmfao idk  
> i dont really have much planned out tbh im just kinda writing this as a passion project(?) so like,, things might be v v inconsistent rip


	6. ANNOUNCEMENT- REWRITE

Hello everyone!

I know that I haven’t touched this fanfic in like,, FOREVER and i would like to first of all say sorry- motivation is a cryptid that hates me.

Also I am going to be rewriting this fic! Some of my ships have changed and I just feel like I’m a better writer now. I hope you all will come along and read it! ^^

I will put a link to the rewrite once I get the first chapter up.

Thank you all!


	7. REWRITE ANNOUNCEMENT

I know some of you already know this, but the rewrite for this fic is officially up!!  
https://archiveofourown.org/works/15953291 Go here to check it out!! :>  
Hope you enjoy it!! <3 <3

**Author's Note:**

> Here's some info for the au!!  
> Shiro(25): Owner  
> Keith(18): Employee, Lance’s new feeder  
> Lance(17): Merman  
> Hunk(17): Employee, Shay’s feeder, used to be Lance’s feeder  
> Pidge(14): Visitor  
> Allura(24): Co-Owner  
> Coran(36): Janitor, Allura's godfather  
> Shay(16): Mershark  
> Matt(23): Handles financial stuff for the aquarium  
> Nyma(17): Siren  
> Rolo(17): Mershark
> 
> Ships:  
> Klance  
> Shalluratt  
> Hunay  
> Nolo(Ryma?)
> 
> I have some other notes in a google doc but those are plot points and they're a sEcReT ;00 lmao  
> I hope you enjoyed!! <3


End file.
